Game



April 1939- R. D. MARTIN 2,152,747

GAME

Filed Aug. 5, 1937 2 sheetsesheet I l R. D. MARTIN April 4, 1939.

GAME

Filed Aug. 3, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2" ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The invention relates to a game and more especially to a block game apparatus.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character, wherein through the use of a game board and blocks a novel and unique game may be played affording considerable amusement and requiring skill in the winning of the same.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character, wherein a plurality of playing pieces in the form of blocks is used in association with a board involving operating and finishing fields, these being blocked ofi" in such manner that a game can be played, the basic characteristic of which resides in the physical properties of the blocks themselves and not in their use merely as symbols for certain plays, the blocks being of three-dimensional form while the squares upon the board are of twodimensional form and the aim of winning the game played is to turn the blocks upon the operating field in varying directions so that these blocks when reaching the landing or finishing field will be so correlated with the squares therein that when any side of any block is positioned it will cover exactly a corresponding area of squares and thus when a block is turned on any face the purpose is to occupy squares on the board adjacent to its preceding position, the operation of turningthe block to be continued as long as there are enough vacant spaces adjacent to it to receive the same, and the player to be considered as winning the game when he or she has properly placed all the blocks within the landing field or if playing in competition with other players, when he or she has thus placed all his or her blocks with the least number of turns.

A further object of the invention is the provi- A sion of an apparatus of this character, wherein the game is based on the use of blocks shaped as prisms with rectangular faces, each block being adapted for turning from one face to another over a predetermined field of contiguous squares, where by successive turnings on its different faces it can be brought to rest on any chosen face and caused to occupypredetermined squares of the determined field and with this requirement the board and the blocks have been developed jointly and correlatively so that they are interdependent, and the blocks themselves being the medium for the playing of the game, their size and shape are a matter of prime importance in association with a playing surface on which they can be properly maneuvered, the purpose of the playing surface being to outline a field or fields of squares on which the various blocks may be moved and over which all the blocks can be operated with sufiicient freedom to permit their manipulation in any direction in a systematic manner in accordance with the rules of the game.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character, which is simple in its construction, thoroughly reliable and efficient in operation, neat and attractive in appearance, lending amusement and requiring skill on the part of the players and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose the preferred embodiment of the invention and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention showing the board and playing blocks, the latter being in starting position.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional View through the board showing the blocks in elevation in their starting position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the blocks in finishing position.

Figure 4 is a sectional View on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figures 5 and 5A are perspective views showing the series or group of playing blocks of the apparatus.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawings;

Referring to the drawings in detail, A designates generally a game playing board which is preferably of square shape provided marginallythereof with a raised border It] upstanding from the playing face or side of said board while marked or otherwise created upon this board Within the border II] are operating and landing fields B and C, respectively, the border It] being for the purpose of outlining the limitations of the fields. I'he field B is in the form of contiguous squares ll, these being of two dimensions and arranged in, vertical and transverse rows both longitudinally and crosswise of the board A and likewise the field C is in the form of contiguous squares l2 of two dimensions each, they being distinguishable and set apart from the squares l l of the field B by a line of demarcation at l3 or by surface coloring different from the surface appearance of the squares of the operating field. The squares l2 are arranged in longitudinal and transverse rows corresponding to the rows of the squares l I, the longitudinal rows being of irregular length and thus creating indentations 14 in the raised border I ll thereby giving to the landing or finishing field C an irregular conformation, being composed of seventy-two squares while the operating field B, which is larger than the landing or finishing field C, is composed of twenty squares in the transverse rows and thirteen squares in the longitudinal rows of such field.

In association with the board A is a series or group of playing pieces in the form of blocks l5, 16, ll, I8, I9, 20 and 21, respectively, each being of three dimensions such that the length, width, and thickness shall bear to one another the relations hereinafter described. The blocks of the series or group are used as the playing pieces by which the game is played, being seven blocks in all'and the ends, sides and faces of each block are made to fit or cover exactly a definite number of squares II and I2 outlined on the board A in the fields B and C thereon.

In listing the blocks, the numbers used refer to the number of units that compose its lineal dimensions, as, one unit square thick, two unit squares wide and four unit squares long.

The following table shows the number and the sizes of the blocks:

Size 1 block 2 by 3 by 3 1 block 1 by 2-by 3 1 block s 1 by 2 by 4 1 block 1 by 3 by 4 1 block 2by2by3 1 block 2 by 3 by 4 1 block 2by2by5 In the playing of a game a block is moved by turning it on its side, end or face as the case may be, there being no jumping or sliding of the blocks on thefields B and C upon the board A as in other games. The block is always moved by turning it over on. one of its faces following the row arrangement either longitudinally or transversely of the squares II and [2 on the board A. v

To play a game all seven blocks are first arranged along a starting line as at 22 following the border area l0 remote from the landing or finishing field C and no stipulated arrangement of the blocks is required at the start except that all the blocks must be placed at the starting line before beginning the play and that the space of at least one square shall separate each block from its neighbors superimposed upon the operating field B.

The blocks are then moved one at a time from the starting line 22 with the object of getting all seven of them inside the limits of the landing or finishing field C and lined up along the line of demarcation I3 dividing the fields B and C from each other allowing at least one square between,

each block and its neighbors, as when starting the game.

Each block is moved from its position at the starting line 22 to the landing or finishing field C by means of turning it any required number of times in the horizontal or longitudinal rows of the squares until it is placed in a chosen position within the landing or finishing field C.

Each move or turn of a block can be accomplished only if there arevacant adjacent spaces to receive it, as a block must always occupy exor vice versa.

actly the adjoining squares and must not overlap or partially extend onto other squares.

The playing of a block is generally best accomplished by following a studied series of turns which the player learns by trial or calculation to be necessary to maneuver it into a proper 'position' for entering the landing or finishing field C. i The player is allowed to arrange the blocks a the start in his own way with the exceptions heretofore pointed out and to move the blocks in the manner before described. If playing the game alone, the player wins when he, or she has succeeded in properly placing all seven blocks within the landing or finishing field C. If playing in competition with other players, he or she wins when a successful player has placed his or her blocks in the smallest number of turns within the landing or playing field C.

The border l0 about the fields B and C helps the player in arranging the blocks at the outset of thegame and acts as a barrier to prevent the certain rules which the player is required to ob-' serve, the game itself being novel as to the methods used for starting with the blocks and the provisions made for ending the game inside a limited or irregular shaped area or field, this arrangement being suitable and distinctive only for the group or series of seven blocks used in this game.

As has been stated, the game is played by means of the blocks and in conjunction with a field of squares on which to operate them. The same lineal unit of measurement is used for the threedimensional blocks as is used for the two-dimensional squares of the board. By using this homogeneous unit, the surface areas of the blocks are correlated with the squares of the board so that when any side of any block is positioned on the board, it will cover exactly a corresponding area of squares. Thus when a block is turned on any face, the purpose is to occupy squares on the board adjacent toits preceding position. Each of these blocks is different from the others as to both shape and dimensions; but all the blocks are constructed after the same unit-dimension pattern used for the field squares. Furthermore, the lineal dimensions of each block have been sochosen that at least one dimension is composed of an odd number of lineal units while the other two are composed of an even number For example, a block two units wide and two units high must have an odd number of units for its length, say three or five units. This construction of the blocks permits them to be shifted, by turning from any set position to any planned position on the board.

What is claimed is:

1. A game apparatus comprising a board having longitudinal and transverse rows of contiguous squares, said rows being divided for effecting operating and finishing play fields, certain of the longitudinal rows of squares in the finishing field being of irregular length with respect to the other, and a plurality of playing blocks turnable on the fields and having face dimensions several times greater than a single square in each field, each block being different from the others both in shape and dimensions and constructed after the same unit-dimension pattern for the field square and one dimension of each block being of an odd number of lineal units while the other dimensions of the said block are of an even number of lineal units.

2. A game apparatus comprising a board having longitudinal and transverse rows of contiguous squares, said rows being divided for effecting operating and finishing play fields, certain of the longitudinal rows of squares in the finishing field being of irregular length with respect to the others, a plurality of playing blocks turnable on the fields and having face dimensions several times greater than a single square in each field, each block being different from the others both in shape and dimensions and constructed after the same unit-dimension pattern for the field square and one dimension of each block being of an odd number of lineal units while the other dimensions of the said block are of an even number of lineal units, and a raised border upon the board and about the playing and finishing fields.

3. A game apparatus comprising a bed having longitudinal and transverse rows of contiguous squares, said rows being divided for effecting operating and finishing play fields, certain of the rows of squares in the finishing field being of irregular extent with respect to each other, and a playing element of block formation turnable on the fields and having face dimensions several times greater than a single square in each field, said block having a shape and dimensions constructed after the same unit dimension pattern for the field square and one dimension being of an odd number of lineal units while the other dimensions are of an even number of lineal units.

RALPH D. LAARTIN. 

